Super shear panels

ABSTRACT

In structural engineering, a shear wall is a structural system composed normally of braced panels (also known as shear panels) to counter the effects of vertical and lateral loads acting on a structure. The Super Shear panel of the present disclosure provides an efficient lateral resistive shear panel that is light and flexible and provides excellent seismic performance as well. Because the size and shape of the shear walls is repetitive rather than custom built on the job site, fabrication efficiencies exist.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to a provisional application, U.S. Ser.No. 62/691,336, filed Jun. 28, 2018, entitled “Super Sheer Panels”.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a new and novel light gauge steel“super shear” panel. Super shear panels of the present disclosureprovide an efficient vertical and lateral resistive shear panel that islight and flexible and provides excellent seismic performance as well.Because the size and shape of the shear walls is repetitive rather thancustom built on the job site, fabrication efficiencies exist.

BACKGROUND Light Gauge Panelized Wall Framing—State of the Art

In order to fully understand the momentous technology of the Applicant'snew light gauge steel “super shear” system, one must first understandthe history of the steel stud, and then how those steel studs morphedinto the sophisticated structural light gauge steel wall panels now inexistence.

By the 1930s building codes contained specifications for hot rolledsteel building components. However, standards for cold formed steelproducts having a width of 3/16^(th) of an inch or less (i.e., lightgauge steel) were not adopted until 1946. The cold formed steel processturns light gauge sheet steel into shapes and sizes which mimicdimensional lumber (e.g., 2×4s, 2×6s, etc.). Light gauge steel framingmembers such as studs (i.e., an upright support in the wall of abuilding to which sheathing or drywall is attached) were formed in aroll forming machine by passing thin sheet steel through a series ofrollers to form the bends that make the desired shape of the endproduct. Because this process is done without heat (hence thedescription “cold formed”) the studs produced are stronger than theoriginal sheet steel. FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional lightgauge cold formed steel C-stud, reflecting the web, flange and returnportions of the C-stud. The metal studs and tracks first produced andused commercially had shapes as indicated on FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, whilethe connections of the studs to the top and bottom tracks is illustratedin FIG. 3.

Since the walls originally constructed by this system were notstructural, they could be used only for interior building partitions andcould not serve as load bearing walls. This nonstructural metal wallsystem quickly replaced lumber for interior partitions in buildings.Indeed, as a result of the increased construction of taller buildings inthe 1950s and 1960s with life safety a paramount concern, thelightweight, non-combustible steel stud and track system increasinglyreplaced the conventional wood framed interior systems. (The weight ofthe metal stud and track system was 33% of the conventional lumberpartition system.) In 2004, the Steel Framing Alliance reported that 81%of interior walls built in the U.S. used cold-formed steel framing.

As a result of improvements in the strength of the metal studs, by the1970's building walls utilizing the stud/track system could serve asload bearing walls. Thus, these structural light gauge wall systemscould be used for exterior building walls. In the 1980's, wall panelfabricators started purchasing studs and tracks and fabricating theminto structural wall panels which were then transported directly to ajob site. By using these prefabricated wall panels produced in afactory, no manual labor was required on the job site to assemble andconnect the studs to the tracks.

By 2011, the use of structural light gauge wall systems had dramaticallyexpanded and had surpassed the steel used to manufacture nonstructuralframing. Also, the non-combustibility and termite resistance of theselight gauge wall panels lowered construction and ownership costs.Presently, between 30% and 35% of all nonresidential buildings in theU.S. are built with cold-formed steel structural and nonstructuralframing

While light gauge steel wall panels have been in existence for manyyears, until recently a roll forming machine was unable to produce largenumbers of light gauge steel wall panel components which would conformto a buildings architectural layout (e.g., stud spacing requirements).The reason for this was the time consuming process of manuallyprogramming the controllers on the roll forming machines to produce thepre-engineered parts for the wall panels. Computer aided design software(i.e., CAD software) has long been used to model complex buildingdesigns with complex framing components. However, until about 10 yearsago it was not possible to download these CAD models to the controllersoftware (CNC software) embedded on the roll forming machines. At thatpoint significant improvements were made in the automated generation ofCNC software instructions from CAD building software models. Thus, largeand complex building designs with thousands of unique framing componentscould be digitized quickly and extremely accurate sets of CNCinstructions to the roll forming machines were generated automatically.This automated process integrating building design and roll formingmanufacturing of the components of differing wall panels moved the lightgauge cold formed steel manufacturing industry past the laborious andmistake-ridden manual programing process previously faced by theindustry.

Accordingly, over the last five years several wall panel manufacturershave integrated the automated generation of CNC instructions, highlycustomized roll forming machines, and specific project and planningimplementation resulting in the efficient large scale production ofcustomized prefabricated wall panels. In short, the current state of theart for customized light gauge wall panels is robust and healthy.

Panelization

Panelization refers to any technique by which certain types of projectscan be divided into smaller assemblies for fabrication in a plant, andthen installed in sections, or panels, later on the jobsite. Thistechnique contrasts with a stick-built technique, which is the commonmethod of framing a structure one stud, or “stick”, at a time.

Panelized construction largely focuses on the vertical walls, as thesecomponents are relatively easy to divide into panels. However, most workin a project cannot be panelized. When trades other than framing followthis process, it is more commonly referred to as modularized rather thanpanelized. Even more recently, the term modularized has come to refer topre-assembly of entire rooms or sections of rooms in a plant, to includethe mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and finishes.

Not all projects are ideally suited for panelization. Projects ideallysuited for panelization are repetitious in alignment from floor tofloor, and generally have a simple design on the exterior. Therepetition in the layout of the floor plan from floor to floor iscritical since alignment of walls vertically up through the structure isan inherent need of a light gauge framing system (true whether panelizedor stick built). Hotels, student housing, and apartment/multi-familyprojects are the ideal project types for panelization. Assisted livingfacilities are still able to be panelized but are less ideal as aproject type than the previous three described. Assisted livingfacilities have challenges to panelization in their designs.Specifically, large, open areas for amenities such as dining, communityrooms, and lobbies are particularly challenging for panelization due tothe long spans between walls. Additionally, assisted living facilitiesoften have ornate, widely varying exterior wall designs, complex roofdesigns, and arched windows. These elements are commonly used in thedesign of these facilities to mimic the look of high end residentialprojects. This often creates many unique framing elements on theexterior of these facilities which are much more labor intensive todesign, fabricate, and ship.

Panel Background

From a structural perspective, every building design must pass designcriteria comprising the same basic set of design loads including gravityloads, lateral loads and seismic loads, all described below.

Gravity Loads may also be referred to as axial loads because the load isborn along the long vertical axis of the studs). A dead load refers tothe weight of the building and its contents without people in thebuilding while a live load refers to not only the weight of the buildingand its contents but the weight with people inside the building.

Lateral loads are loads on the building from wind. The Engineer ofRecord (“EoR”) on the project determines what wind speeds to design forbased on weather criteria for the region. Those wind speeds areconverted into a force in pounds per square foot, and each design mustcontain a Lateral Design System to deal with those forces. The LateralDesign System is a combination of vertical elements “shear walls” andthe horizontal floor elements “diaphragm”. Each of these two elementswork in concert with each other to brace the building against the wind.The lateral design system can vary a lot from building to building, andit can become quite complex when designed in conjunction with seismicloads.

Seismic loads are loads on the building due to an earthquake. The EoRdesignates the seismic requirements based on the Seismic Zone in whichthe building is located. Seismic zones are ranked from 1-4, with 4 beingthe most susceptible seismic areas. Many areas in the west coast are inSeismic Zone 4. Unlike wind loads which blow in one direction at a time,seismic loads are eccentric in nature. A seismic reaction can cause thebuilding to move in all directions, unpredictably, and repeatedly. Whilewind load can be resisted with “brute force”, such as large reinforcedmasonry shafts around the stairs and elevators, this is directlycounterproductive to seismic design. Seismic design requires thebuilding to be light and flexible, i.e. bend but don't break. Efficientsystems for lateral resistance, such as masonry, are far too rigid,brittle, and heavy to be effective in a seismic design.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or moreimplementations in order to provide a basic understanding of someimplementations. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated implementations, and is intended to neither identify key orcritical elements of all implementations nor delineate the scope of anyor all implementations. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts ofone or more implementations in a simplified form as a prelude to themore detailed description that is presented later.

According to one feature, a structural support for a shear panel isprovided. The structural support comprises a pair of assembled frameswhere each assembled frame in the pair of assembled frames comprises aninner frame comprising a pair of vertical member integrally connected toa pair of horizontal members forming the inner frame; a first invertedstud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal membersof the inner frame, the first inverted stud having a first open face; asecond inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair ofhorizontal members of the inner frame, the second inverted stud having asecond open face; and a third inverted stud connected to and extendingbetween the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the thirdinverted stud having a third open face, where the second inverted studis located between and equidistant from the first and third invertedstuds.

The pair of assembled frames are integrally connected such that the openfaces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs of a firstassembled frame in the pair of assembled frames are connected to openfaces of the first, second and third inverted studs of a secondassembled frame forming first, second and third inverted studassemblies; and the connection of the open faces of each of the firstinverted studs of the first inverted stud in the first and secondassembled frames form a first hollow square tube.

According to one aspect, the connection of the open faces of each of thesecond inverted studs of the second inverted stud assembly in the firstand second assembled frames form a second hollow square tube.

According to another aspect, the connection of the open faces of each ofthe third inverted studs of the third inverted stud assembly in thefirst and second assembled frames form a third hollow square tube.

According to yet another aspect, structural support further comprises afirst outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrallyconnected pair of assembled frames along a first vertical edge.

According to yet another aspect, the structural support furthercomprises a second outer boundary column integrally connected to theintegrally connected pair of assembled frames along a second verticaledge.

According to yet another aspect, wherein each of the first, second andthird inverted studs comprise a pair of vertical wall members integrallyconnected perpendicularly to a web and a first return integrallyconnected to and extending outwardly from a first vertical wall memberand a second return integrally connected to and extending outwardly froma second vertical wall member.

According to yet another aspect, wherein a piece of sheet metal islocated between the pair of assembled frames.

According to yet another aspect, the structural support furthercomprises a top track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and thefirst and the second outer boundary columns

According to yet another aspect, the structural support furthercomprises a bottom track encompassing the pair of assembled frames andthe first and the second outer boundary columns, the bottom track isparallel to the top track.

According to yet another aspect, the first outer boundary column isembedded within the foundation of a structure.

According to yet another aspect, the second outer boundary column isembedded within the foundation of a structure.

According to yet another aspect, wherein the open faces of each of thefirst, second and third inverted studs from the first assembly arefastened to the open faces of each of the first, second and thirdinverted studs from the second inverted stud assembly by screws.

According to yet another aspect, wherein the open faces of each of thefirst, second and third inverted studs from the first assembly arefastened to the open faces of each of the first, second and thirdinverted studs from the second assembly by welding forming first, secondand third inverted stud assemblies.

According to another features, structural support for a shear panel isprovided. The structure support comprises a pair of assembled frames, afirst outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrallyconnected pair of assembled frames and a first vertical edge; and asecond outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrallyconnected pair of assembled frames along a second vertical edge of thepair of assembled frames.

Each of assembled frames in the pair of assembled frames comprises aninner frame comprising a pair of vertical member integrally connected toa pair of horizontal members forming the inner frame; a first invertedstud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal membersof the inner frame, the first inverted stud having a first open face; asecond inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair ofhorizontal members of the inner frame, the second inverted stud having asecond open face; and a third inverted stud connected to and extendingbetween the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the thirdinverted stud having a third open face, where the second inverted studis located between and equidistant from the first and third invertedstuds.

The pair of assembled frames are integrally connected such that the openfaces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs of a firstassembled frame in the pair of assembled frames are connected to openfaces of the first, second and third inverted studs of a secondassembled frame forming first, second and third inverted studassemblies; and the connection of the open faces of each of the firstinverted studs of the first inverted stud in the first and secondassembled frames form a first hollow square tube.

According to one aspect, each of the first, second and third invertedstuds comprise a pair of vertical wall members integrally connectedperpendicularly to a web and a first return integrally connected to andextending outwardly from a first vertical wall member and a secondreturn integrally connected to and extending outwardly from a secondvertical wall member.

According to yet another aspect, a piece of sheet metal is locatedbetween the pair of assembled frames.

According to yet another aspect, the structural support furthercomprises a top track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and thefirst and the second outer boundary columns

According to yet another aspect, the structural support furthercomprises a bottom track encompassing the pair of assembled frames andthe first and the second outer boundary columns, where the bottom trackis parallel to the top track.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present aspects may becomemore apparent from the detailed description set forth below when takenin conjunction with the drawings in which like reference charactersidentify correspondingly throughout.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional light gauge cold formedsteel C-stud, reflecting the web, flange and return portions of theC-stud.

FIG. 2 illustrates a track which is used to attach the C-stud to thefloor and ceiling.

FIG. 3 illustrates a pair of C-studs affixed to a top track and a bottomtrack.

FIG. 4 illustrates a stud with an inverted return, in accordance withone aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plurality of inverted returns joined together openface to open face forming hollowing square tubes which are situated in atrack, in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a pair of inverted returned facing open face to openface but not joined together, in accordance with one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a pair of inverted returns facing open face to openface and physically joining the inverted returns to form a hollow squaretube, in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a light gauge steel angle (“Steel Angle”) for use inmaking inner frames, in accordance with one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a pair of assembled frames joined together withsections of sheet metal located between the assembled frames, inaccordance with one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10a illustrates an upper left assembled frame corner, in accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10b illustrates an upper right assembled frame corner, inaccordance with one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10c illustrates a lower left assembled frame corner, in accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspectof the present disclosure.

FIG. 10d illustrates a lower left assembled frame corner, in accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates boundary columns originating and embedded in thebuilding foundation and extend upward through each floor of thebuilding, in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratingthe general principles of the invention, since the scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Super Shear Purpose

In structural engineering, a shear wall is a structural system composednormally of braced panels (also known as shear panels) to counter theeffects of lateral loads acting on a structure. The Super Shear panel ofthe present disclosure provides an efficient lateral resistive shearpanel that is light and flexible and provides excellent seismicperformance as well. Because the size and shape of the shear walls isrepetitive rather than custom built on the job site, fabricationefficiencies exist.

Light and Flexible for Seismic Performance

A structure of shear walls in the center of a large building (oftenencasing an elevator shaft or stairwell) form a shear core. As notedabove, masonry shafts, while excellent for wind load lateral resistance,perform poorly in seismic design. Even the most conventional type oflight gauge shear wall, comprising X braced straps tied to the perimeterof the wall panel, perform poorly in seismic design. The most favorablytested system to date is a light gauge shear wall that replaces the Xbrace strap with sheets of metal that cover the entire face of the wall.Super Shear also uses sheet metal and light gauge framing to ensure thewalls are light and flexible.

Using Super Shear panels of the present disclosure in lieu of otherslower processes, such as masonry, expedites the project schedule byeliminating concrete pouring and curing. For example, on the typicalhotel that utilizes masonry shafts, those shafts are commonly builtstart to finish and topped out before any panel work can start. Thisduration can be six to eight weeks before panelization can start. Byutilizing the light gauge steel “super shear” system of the presentdisclosure, the entire masonry scope duration can be removed from theschedule.

Fabrication Efficiencies

The Super Shear wall of the present disclosure may be the same size wallfor each floor of a building. Typically, the wall will be built ineight-foot sections, and in sufficient quantities to resist the seismicand lateral loads defined above. In conventional design, the shear wallsare twenty feet long on average, extremely heavy and hard to deal within the plant. This methodology requires flipping the panel over duringfabrication. Flipping a panel in fabrication is problematic, somewhatunsafe, and slow.

An eight (8) foot Super Shear panel may be used to replace what wouldotherwise require seven (7) vertical studs on 16 inch centers (i.e., six(6) spaces between the seven (7) studs @ sixteen (16) inches per spaceequals ninety-six (96) inches or eight (8) feet). Such an eight (8) footSuper Shear panel will exactly accommodate two four (4) feet by eight(8) feet, two four (4) feet by ten (10) feet or two four (4) feet bytwelve (12) feet drywall sheets (with the length of the dry wall sheetsbeing dependent based on the ceiling height).

Jobsite Efficiencies

Sheet steel type shear walls have historically involved a process ofsimply framing a wall, and then applying sheet steel to the entire faceof the wall with screws before the drywall is installed over the sheetsteel for a finished product. However, this creates several jobsiteproblems that the Super Shear panel seeks to solve.

First, the Super Shear panel design of the present disclosure moves thesheet steel from the outside face of the walls to the center of the wallline. This is substantial because one of the inherent weaknesses of asheet steel system is that other trades cannot make requiredpenetrations into the sheet steel without weakening it substantially.Since the majority of walls in a commercial structure have electrical,plumbing, or mechanical elements coursing through them, there isinevitable conflict between trades competing for the same space.

Additionally, sheet steel is not very strong in terms of pounds persquare foot of force it can resist, and this weakness therefore forcesthe designers to use large quantities of sheet steel. It is common that30-40% of interior partitions have some amount of sheet steel laminatedto them. On the bottom floors of structures, where the loads arecollecting from stories above, designers often run out of wall space onwhich to apply enough sheet steel to meet project shear requirements.Consequently, such situations may require sheet steel on both sides ofthe walls. While this solution gains enough sheet steel to do the job,it completely closes the wall cavity to installation by mechanical,electrical, and plumbing trades, and prevents access by inspectors. Bymoving the sheet steel to the center of the wall, all these problems aresolved with Super Shear panel of the present disclosure.

The potential of super shear panels lies largely in eliminating masonryand/or concrete shafts from the project and making the entire projectpossible to construct using only light gauge steel panels and SuperShear panels. In doing so, it becomes substantially more efficient toproduce since the Super Shear panels can be fabricated in the plantunlike other light gauge shear wall designs. While not essential to itsstructural performance, the accommodations provided to the other tradesby the Super Shear panel configuration of the present disclosure alonewill make it a preferred methodology by construction trades.

The Inverted Return Stud

Before proceeding with the description and operation of the shear panel,it will be helpful to again review several of the attached figures. FIG.1 is an illustration of a conventional light gauge cold formed steelC-stud 100, reflecting the web 102, flanges 104 and return portions 106of the C-stud 100 extending inwardly. FIG. 2 illustrates a track 200which is used to attach the C-stud to the floor and ceiling. The track200 may comprise a web 202 and flanges 204, 206 integrally connected toand extending upwardly from the edges of the web 202. FIG. 3 shows how apair of C-studs 100 are affixed to a top and bottom track.

Turning to FIG. 4, a stud 400 having a web 402 with a pair of invertedreturns 404 406 and a pair of flanges 408 integrally connected betweenthe web 402 and the pair of introverted returns 404, 406 that utilizedin the present disclosure is illustrated. The use of such a stud 400 maybe a critical element of the super shear panel as well as an extremelynovel aspect of the shear panel. As shown in FIG. 1, the returns on aconventional C-stud 100 protrude or extend inwards into the interior ofthe C-stud 100. In FIG. 4, the C-stud 400 with an inverted return isshown. That is, both returns 404, 406 on the stud 400 protrude or extendoutwardly from the flanges 408 and the exterior of the stud 400 insteadof towards the interior of the stud 400 (as in FIG. 1). Hereinafter thisinverted return stud 400 may be known as an “Inverted Stud” 400. (In thetrade, the Inverted Stud 400 is known as a hat channel which is usedprimarily as a furring strip.) As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a firstinverted stud 502 and a second inverted stud 504 may be joined togetheropen face to open face forming a hollow square tube that may be situatedin a track 506 with both the webs parallel to the track instead ofperpendicular to the track 506, in accordance with one aspect of thepresent disclosure. In one example, hollow square tubes 508 may beformed by placing the open faces of the inverted studs 502, 504 togethermay be 6 inches along each side of the square tube 508. (See FIGS. 6 and7) The hollow square tube is a load absorbing tube used in construction.By using a hollow square tube instead of a solid square tube, theoverall weight of the structural support is reduced.

According to one example, the Inverted Studs 502, 504 can be joined openface to open face by screwing together the protruding returns (see FIG.4 402, 404) pointing away from the flange. Thus, the outward facingreturns of the Inverted Studs 502, 504 may be used in this shear panelas receptables for screws. When the open faces of the Inverted Studs502, 504 are joined together by screws the hollow square tube 508 asshown in FIGS. 5-7 is formed. Accordingly, screwing together the outwardreturns of the two Inverted Studs 502, 504 does not impact thestructural integrity of the hollow square tube 508 created by thejoinder of the two Inverted Studs 502, 504. The returns of the invertedstuds 502, 504 may be secured together by any fastening means known inthe art including but not limited to screws and welding. FIG. 6illustrates a pair of inverted returns facing open face to open face butnot physically joined together, in accordance with one aspect of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 7 illustrates a pair of inverted returnedfacing open face to open face and physically joined together forming ahollow square tube, in accordance with one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

Design of Super Shear Panel

The shear panel of the present disclosure may have a constant width of 8feet and a height of whatever clear space is required in the building'sinterior space, in accordance with one aspect. For a 10-foot clearceiling height, the shear panel would be 8 ft. wide by 10 ft. high.Accordingly, the remainder of this disclosure will assume an 8 ft. wideshear panel is being fabricated for a 10 ft. high clear space.

The shear panel may be comprised of the following components: (1) innerframes; (2) studs with inverted returns (or inverted studs); (3) sheetmetal; (4) boundary columns; and (5) tracks.

With respect to the inner frames, the sheer panel may have two 8 ft. by10 ft. inner frames (an inside inner frame and an outside inner frame)of 3 inches by 2 inches of a light gauge steel angle 800 (See FIG. 8 forlight gauge steel angle (“Steel Angle”) which may be used to make theinner frames.).

With the respect to the inverted studs, the shear panel of the presentdisclosure may include three Inverted Studs 902, 904, 906 (See FIG. 9)representing three stud sub-assemblies which may be welded to each ofthe two inner frames described above. After the three Inverted Studs arewelded to each of the inner frames 920, each completed inner frame pieceshall be known as an “Assembled Frame”.

With respect to the sheet metal, the shear panel may have sheet metalpieces 908, 910 which may be 4 ft. wide and 10 ft. long, according toone aspect, which will run vertically between the left and right fourfoot portion of the inside Assembled Frame and the outside AssembledFrame when the Assembled Frames are joined together. FIG. 9 illustratestwo completed and joined together Assembled Frames which also shows thefour foot sections of sheet metal sandwiched in between the AssembledFrames. FIGS. 10a-10d illustrates the corner sections of an AssembledFrame. FIG. 10a illustrates an upper left assembled frame corner. FIG.10b illustrates an upper right assembled frame corner. FIG. 10cillustrates a lower left assembled frame corner. FIG. 10d illustrates alower left assembled frame corner.

With respect to the boundary columns 912, 914, the exterior of eachshear panel may be encased by boundary columns 912, 914. This boundarycolumns 912, 914 may originate and be embedded in the buildingfoundation and will proceed upward through each of the floors of thebuilding as indicated in FIG. 11. The boundary columns 912, 914 will bestructural steel or light gauge cold formed steel if the shearrequirements are low to moderate. The purpose of the boundary columns912, 914 is to absorb the lateral forces captured by the shear panels oneach floor and transmit those lateral forces to the foundation of thebuilding. The zone of the building covered by the Boundary Columns isknown as a Seismic Frame.

With respect to the tracks, a top 916 and bottom track 918 may be usedto encompass the completed bundling of the (1) inner frames; (2) studswith inverted returns (or inverted studs); (3) sheet metal and (4)boundary columns as described above.

The completed shear panel may have a six inch depth. When drywall isattached to the closed faces of the Inverted Studs (which may be on twoft. centers), the drywall attached to the completed shear panel may beon the same plane as the drywall sheets attached to the regularconventional non-shear 6 inch wall panels.

According to one aspect, the width of the shear panel may be extended infour foot increments which means that the boundary columns may be movedfurther apart and replaced by a joined together inverted stud assembly.The Inverted Studs, Tracks, and Steel Angles of the shear panel mayutilize 12 gauge to 18 gauge light gauge steel with 14 gauge to 16 gaugemost likely to be utilized. Likewise, the sheet metal used in the shearpanel may range from 18 to 22 gauge with 20 gauge most likely to beutilized. The prevailing axial and shear requirements of the buildingwill dictate the choice of the gauges to be utilized. Applicant believesthat the available options to upgrade the shear and axial performancesof the shear wall by increasing the shear wall length, and/or upgradingthe grade of the light gauge steel and sheet metal will allow the shearpanel to be the most robust in existence.

One or more of the components and functions illustrated in the previousfigures may be rearranged and/or combined into a single component orembodied in several components without departing from the invention.Additional elements or components may also be added without departingfrom the invention.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather,the words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments of the invention.

1. A structural support for a shear panel, comprising: a pair of assembled frames, each assembled frame in the pair of assembled frames comprising: an inner frame comprising a pair of vertical member integrally connected to a pair of horizontal members forming the inner frame; a first inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the first inverted stud having a first open face; a second inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the second inverted stud having a second open face; a third inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the third inverted stud having a third open face, where the second inverted stud is located between and equidistant from the first and third inverted studs; wherein the pair of assembled frames are integrally connected such that the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs of a first assembled frame in the pair of assembled frames are connected to open faces of the first, second and third inverted studs of a second assembled frame forming first, second and third inverted stud assemblies; and wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the first inverted studs of the first inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a first hollow square tube.
 2. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the second inverted studs of the second inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a second hollow square tube.
 3. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the third inverted studs of the third inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a third hollow square tube.
 4. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, further comprising a first outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrally connected pair of assembled frames and a first vertical edge.
 5. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 4, further comprising a second outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrally connected pair of assembled frames along a second vertical edge of the pair of assembled frames.
 6. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second and third inverted studs comprise a pair of vertical wall members integrally connected perpendicularly to a web and a first return integrally connected to and extending outwardly from a first vertical wall member and a second return integrally connected to and extending outwardly from a second vertical wall member.
 7. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein a piece of sheet metal is located between the pair of assembled frames.
 8. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 5, further comprising a top track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and the first and the second outer boundary columns
 9. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 5, further comprising a bottom track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and the first and the second outer boundary columns, where the bottom track is parallel to the top track.
 10. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 4, wherein the first outer boundary column is embedded within the foundation of a structure.
 11. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 5, wherein the second outer boundary column is embedded within the foundation of a structure.
 12. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs from the first assemble frame are fastened to the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs from the second assembled frames by screws.
 13. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 1, wherein the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs from the first assembled frame are fastened to the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs from the second assembly by welding forming the first, second and third inverted stud assemblies.
 14. A structural support for a shear panel, comprising: a pair of assembled frames, each assembled frame in the pair of assembled frames comprising: an inner frame comprising a pair of vertical member integrally connected to a pair of horizontal members forming the inner frame; a first inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the first inverted stud having a first open face; a second inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the second inverted stud having a second open face; and a third inverted stud connected to and extending between the pair of horizontal members of the inner frame, the third inverted stud having a third open face, where the second inverted stud is located between and equidistant from the first and third inverted studs; a first outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrally connected pair of assembled frames and a first vertical edge; and a second outer boundary column integrally connected to the integrally connected pair of assembled frames along a second vertical edge of the pair of assembled frames; wherein the pair of assembled frames are integrally connected such that the open faces of each of the first, second and third inverted studs of a first assembled frame in the pair of assembled frames are connected to open faces of the first, second and third inverted studs of a second assembled frame forming first, second and third inverted stud assemblies; and wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the first inverted studs of the first inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a first hollow square tube.
 15. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 14, wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the second inverted studs of the second inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a second hollow square tube.
 16. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 14, wherein the connection of the open faces of each of the third inverted studs of the third inverted stud assembly in the first and second assembled frames form a third hollow square tube.
 17. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 14, wherein each of the first, second and third inverted studs comprise a pair of vertical wall members integrally connected perpendicularly to a web and a first return integrally connected to and extending outwardly from a first vertical wall member and a second return integrally connected to and extending outwardly from a second vertical wall member.
 18. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 14, wherein a piece of sheet metal is located between the pair of assembled frames.
 19. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 14, further comprising a top track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and the first and the second outer boundary columns
 20. The structural support for a shear panel of claim 19, further comprising a bottom track encompassing the pair of assembled frames and the first and the second outer boundary columns, where the bottom track is parallel to the top track. 